Working in Partnership with the OB Club

Aim

The Blundell’s Development Office works in partnership with the Old Blundellian Club with the aim of providing the best possible cost effective service to the whole Blundell’s community to achieve the following objectives;

Objectives

To co-ordinate, facilitate and support the activities of the Blundellian Community (Old Blundellian Club, Friends of Blundell’s, Peter Blundell Society and all other friends and contacts of the school).

To encourage and facilitate communication between all elements and individual members of the Blundell’s community by means including the use of IT databases, social media, in-house publications, of the activities of the community in the UK and overseas.

To cultivate goodwill and support for identified and agreed projects both Bursaries and Capital.

To promote the reputation and status of Blundell’s School locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.

To sustain the tradition of benefaction that has been central to Blundell’s development over the centuries.

To create and maintain the demand for pupil places at Blundell’s.

To foster a community which encourages potential high calibre staff to be part of.

Collaborative working with the Old Blundellian Club staff and members enables us to strengthen our relationship and, based on the Foundation’s original objectives, to expand the role it plays to maintain a strong and sustained evolution of the school.

OBs are very important to us and the contributions which they have made throughout the years are much appreciated by those who have benefitted from their considerable generosity. We in the Development Office are responsible for working with the Old Blundellian Club to maintain the contact network of former pupils and teaching staff, and to keep in touch with OBs in the UK and overseas to provide information on what is happening at Blundell’s.

We also work to provide the opportunities for OBs to meet at school or at venues in the UK or overseas. In particular there is the annual OB Day at the school and the London drinks reception to which all Blundellians and the extended Blundell’s community are invited to. We recognise the importance of connecting OBs with long lost school friends and we do our best to answer OB questions and provide contact details.

We encourage OBs to keep us informed on their whereabouts. So if you want to make sure your details are up to date please complete our Personal Information Update form. This link allows you to amend your own details and to locate those of other OBs or Friends of Blundell’s who are happy to disclose their contact details.

The Development Office and the OB Club aims to build connections within the school, and the wider school community – alumni, parents and former parents and other supporters to Blundell's. Together they provide the means for people to keep in touch and come back and visit the school once they are no longer involved on a regular basis.

The Old Blundellian Club is a friendship organisation for all past pupils and staff of Blundell’s School. Its main purpose is for members to keep in touch with each other using the Beale Centre and Development Office in the school as the focal point.

The OB Club believes that Blundell’s possesses a unique ethos that it passes on to all those who study or work there. The OB Club aims to bring together those that share this view and works with the Head, the Board of Governors, the Development Office and the Friends of Blundell’s Parents Committee to preserve this ethos by ensuring the continuing success and prosperity of The School.

A key part of our work is to bring together the alumni by keeping them in touch through organising events and updating them with the on-going success of Blundell’s. Blundell’s has a long and intricate history and we want to preserve this into the future.

The work of the OB Club is led by the OB Club Committee and delivered primarily in combination by the Administrative Officer and staff in the Development office. Staff also deal with the day to day contact with alumni, by email, social media, phone and even the odd letter. The Development Office and OB Club work closely together.

An events calendar is published each year and distributed to the community to publicise what will be happening. Other events also happen through the year and these are promoted through social media and email, or by invitation. Events are varied in type and cost, and we are continuing with our programme of drinks reunions in different locations both nationally and internationally. Ideas are always welcome!

The Diary is published termly. A hard printed copy is sent out in September, January and again in April. The Diary is a blend of School activity and news, together with reports and editorial from the Development Office and OB Club. The Blundellian (the school annual review) is published once a year in the autumn term and is available for £25 per edition.

The OB Club and Development office websites are updated regularly with news and photos of events while there is a thriving Facebook page and Twitter feed together with a dedicated Linked In page to connect alumni both in the Business and Social world.

The Development Office is able to connect people in an informal sense to answer questions and provide information about careers and professions. We have a dedicated career mentoring programme for current pupils, for young alumni who are at university, or have just left, or for those who are embarking on a new career path or change of profession. The mentoring could be by email, phone or face to face. We are keen to establish careers and professions dinners in Devon or London to support individual groups. A mentoring directory is available on this website.

The Business Directory is a service for members of the Blundell's community where they are able to promote their business products and services to like-minded members across the community. This often leads to support to some of the activities and events the pupils are participating in. Promotional stories are featured on occasions in the Blundell's publications.

Members of the Blundell's community past and present are able to promote their charitable activity to other members of the community via the OB Club or Development Office website to enable a wide audience to be able to see what is being undertaken and engage in support if they so wish. The frequency and benevolent nature of our Blundellians means that we are frequently asked to promote a particular charitable activity. In order not to in update our community with constant requests, we have found this is the most successful and equal way of promoting such activity.

The Beale Centre

A wonderful building managed by the OB Club available for use by Old Blundellians for social functions, reunions and other similar events.

The Ted Crowe Room – Somerset County Cricket Ground

The Old Blundellian Cricket Club are fortunate to have the use of the Ted Crowe Room (formerly the Ondaatje Room) for use by members and their guests to entertain and enjoy a day of County Cricket thoughout the season. Booking in procedures apply.

Chapel

If you have a family wedding or christening, the Chapel is available for use if the calendar allows.

Overseas Ambassadors

Bearing in mind a shrinking world and the increasing number of OBs spending work and travel time outside the UK, the OB Committee decided to ask OBs living abroad whether they would be prepared to act as Ambassadors for the Club. The idea is to provide support and advice for OBs travelling or relocating in as many countries as possible.

It is our intention to ensure all the above areas and year groups are represented by OBs throughout the country as well as overseas, together with a range of profession co-ordinators and activities including all sports and such activities as the Choir Tours. If you would like to participate, please do ask for our guidelines on expecations and what is involved, it isn’t always over arduous and can be for a limited period.

Blundell's Lodge was founded in 1934 and is open to all Old Blundellians (and, indeed, any other gentlemen) who are 21 or over and are of good character. It also welcomes any existing OB freemasons who wish to join.